Our cupcake contributor, Lauren of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy., is here today to make you drool…

I don’t know about you but one of my favorite sweets as a runner up to cupcakes of course, is Oreos!  My all time favorites are the Double Stuf.  But now there are even more options for the chocolate sandwich cream-filled cookies than when I was a kid…like Berry Burst, Peanut Butter and Cool Mint flavors!  I even saw a new Birthday Flavor with sprinkles in the cream center at the grocery the other day.  Well come to find out Oreo is celebrating their 100th birthday this month!  WOW!  I had no clue Milk’s Favorite Cookie was turning the big 100, and much less the month I planned to do an Oreo themed cupcake.  I must say the timing turned out quite nicely!  So today I’m excited to share with you some delicious Chocolate Mint Oreo Cupcakes.

This recipe is super simple and doesn’t require a ton of ingredients.  The base of the cake starts with a chocolate box mix, which I’m sure most everyone has on hand in their pantry just in case you need to whip up a cake in a pinch.  Add a few extra ingredients to the mix and you’ve got yourself a cake that tastes like its from scratch!  I always keep a few box cakes on hand just in case I want to save the extra time and measuring of all those ingredients when making a cake.  And if you make the frosting from scratch I guarantee know one will even know the cake was from a box…it can be our little secret!

The fun thing about Oreos is that they are just the right size to sneak into the bottom of your cupcake liners before adding your cake batter.  The cake bakes up perfectly leaving the Oreo at the bottom of the wrapper so its completely hidden.  It is not until someone takes a bite into the cupcake do they discover the surprise of the cream-filled cookie inside and that extra burst of color from the green Cool Mint!  I must say these go over great with the kids…it’s like they found a hidden treasure inside their cake!

With all the Oreo flavors these days, this recipe can be easily adapted to suit your flavor cravings! So have fun experimenting with your favorite Oreo flavor.

CHOCOLATE MINT OREO CUPCAKES
recipe by Lauren Kapeluck
(makes 24 cupcakes)

For the cake:

1 box Devils Food Cake Mix
1 small box (3.9oz) Chocolate Instant Pudding
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
24 Cool Mint Oreos

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. Place one Cool Mint Oreo in the bottom of each cupcake liner.
3. In medium bowl combine cake mix, chocolate pudding, vegetable oil, milk and eggs.
4. Beat with electric mixer until incorporated and then continue mixing 1-2 minutes.
5. Scoop batter over top of Oreos in cupcake liner.
6. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
8. Once cupcakes are completely cool frost with Crushed Oreo Mint Frosting.

For the icing:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup vegetable shortening
6 cups confectioner’s sugar
3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp mint extract
green food coloring
12 Cool Mint Oreos, crushed

1. In bowl of stand mixer beat butter and vegetable shortening until creamy.
2. Gradually add in confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
3. Add milk 1 Tbsp at a time as needed until reach desired consistency.
4. Add mint extract and a few drops of green food coloring to tint to desired color.
5. Mix in crushed Oreos.
6. Place icing in piping bag and snip off tip to create a large hole. Swirl icing on top of cupcakes.
7. Garnish cupcakes with 1 Cool Mint Oreo cookie on top if desired.

Go pour yourself a tall glass of milk and enjoy a Chocolate Mint Oreo Cupcake! Happy 100th Birthday Oreo!

	Lauren Kapeluck Lauren is a monthly contributor for The Cake Blog. She is a self-taught baker and lover of all things sugar. Read more about Lauren on her bio page.

Why hello, beautiful birthday!  Today’s party comes to us from the same talented lady who brought us the charming Barber Shop Birthday last September.  While that party was definitely a manly-man theme, today’s party is all girl!  With a hot pink, black and white color scheme, polka dots, damask and feathers… this party is so sassy.  And talk about oodles of incredible desserts.  This party would have Minnie herself saying “Aren’t you sweet!”  Let’s take a look at this precious Minnie Mouse 1st Birthday Party, styled by Dawn Menon of Bee*s Knees Parties and featuring an abundance of delightful cakes and sweet treats!

Dawn shared a few thoughts about this event:

“This party was for one of my clients whose daughter loves Minnie Mouse.  My client owns a D’Lites frozen yogurt store on Long Island, and wanted to have the party there. We chose to follow the color palate of the store, which happens to be black, white and hot pink.

Look at all of those incredible sweets!  Minnie Mouse cupcakes, cookies and an adorable smash cake for the first birthday girl!  And check out the main cake… it’s actually an ice cream cake made by the frozen yogurt store and then decorated with fondant pieces from The Hudson Cakery.  Doesn’t it look delicious?  Not to mention oh-so-cute!

So many delightful details in pink and black, all adorned with Minnie’s little black ears and signature bow!

Minnie, Minnie everywhere!  From the whimsical backdrop down to the every last cake pop, this party is like a trip to Disneyland!  Perfectly sweet and full of fun!

A special thanks to Dawn Menon of Bee*s Knees Parties and Keiko Niwa of 2 Girl Phototique for sharing this darling Minnie Mouse 1st Birthday Party with us!  It is just darling!

Vendors & Credits:
Smash Cake, Cookies, and Minnie Mouse ice cream cake fondant pieces:  The Hudson Cakery
Ice Cream Cake:  D’Lites Woodbury
Mini Minnie Mouse Cupcakes- The GoodieBox Bakeshop
Cupcake Fondant Pieces – Claudia The Cupcake Lady
Minnie Mouse Cakepops – Edible Encores
Party Decor and Styling – Bee*s Knees Parties
Photography:  Keiko Niwa of 2 Girl Phototique

Today’s party is truly out of this world!  We see so many adorable parties for little girls and babies… but great parties for little boys seem harder to come by.  That makes today’s post even more fun!  With a modern color scheme, oodles of creative details and a beautiful table of solar snacks, this party is perfect for little astronauts.  Jasmine Clouser of The Couture Cakery let her imagination soar when she created this party for her son’s 5th birthday.  Get ready to blast off for some fun and adventure with this incredible Outer Space Birthday Party!

Jasmine designed the invitation along with the custom party printables, building upon a grey, orange, lime green and blue color scheme.  From there, she created a charming cake, cupcakes and cookies to match!  I love that Jasmine’s cake is modern and playful yet do-able for at home bakers.  She used cookie cutters to create the colored shapes out of fondant and a rubber letter stamp to emboss her son’s age and initial.

Oodles of Solar Snacks brought this theme to life!  From Planet Pops (red velvet cake pops inspired by Bakerella) to stick candies shaped like a space shuttle, astronaut and planet Earth.

Trix cereal doubled as Space Rocks and provided an inexpensive treat to be served from a large apothecary jar.  Meteoroids were created by topping  round pretzels with orange candy melts and a silver sixlets.  Too clever!

Mini push pop containers are filled with M&Ms to create Booster Fuel capsules while Cookie Crisp cereal steps in as Moon Rocks!

From the vibrant paper fan backdrop to the whimsical table banner and everything in between, this party is space-tacular!  What little boy wouldn’t love to get lost in this universe of delicious sweets?

A big thank you to my friend Jasmine Clouser at The Couture Cakery for sharing this charming Outer Space Birthday Party with us!  It is truly out of this world!

Vendors & Credits:
Dessert Table Styling, Cake and Cupcakes, Photography:  The Couture Cakery
Invitation and Party Printables:  The Couture Cakery
Mini Push Pop Containers and Straws:  Shop Sweet Lulu
Tissue paper fans, Sixlet candy:  Party City
Linen:  Essential Party Rentals

It’s Friday!  So I thought we’d have some fun and go shopping together.  Window shopping that is!  For one of my very favorite things… cake stands!  Can a girl have too many cake stands?  I say, no way!  They’re almost like shoes… the perfect accessory to glam up to your sweet treats and cakes.  So we’re taking a look at some of my favorite stands and pedestals right now.  From tall and dainty, to glass domes and mini stands.  These are some Fabulous Cake Pedestals!

Crystal clear, tall and dainty. These glass pedestals let the beauty of your baked goods shine through. Covered with a glass dome, any dessert looks more tempting…

1.  Tall and delicate with a perfect little dome. A charming glass pedestal from the Martha Stewart Collection.
2.  For when you feel like splurging. These fabulous glass stands from Neiman Marcus are seriously spectacular!
3.  Once again proving that budget friendly doesn’t have to mean boring, a gorgeous glass dome and pedestal from my favorite go-to-store, Target.

Small, petite and perfectly sweet. These mini cake pedestals are perfect for little indulgences. Cupcakes deserve to be put on a pedestal as well! Or try stacking a few cookies, macaroons or mini desserts on these little babies.

4. The scallop edge and glazed finish on this Flora in Taupe stand by Clara French Ceramique has a great vintage vibe.
5. Tiny white beading on this delightful mini stand from Target is both beautiful and budget friendly.
6. What’s better than one petite stand? Two petite stands! Loving this pair of simple white cupcake stands from the Martha Stewart Collection.

White stands are chic, elegant and can withstand the test of time.
7. This simply sleek white pedestal by Sarah’s Stands is the perfect accessory for a modern cake or dessert display.
8. Add a little touch of flirt with this ruffled cake pedestal from Crate and Barrel.
9. Sophisticated and stunning. An all white square pedestal from the Martha Stewart Collection.

Do you have a favorite cake stand or pedestal that you’re loving right now? Be sure to share it with us!

Happy Friday everyone!

	Carrie Sellman is the Founder & Editor of The Cake Blog. Her work has been published in BRIDES Magazine, The Bride and Bloom, on DIYnetwork.com, TLC’s Parentables and more. Read more about Carrie on her bio page.

FREE Printable File for the paper flags needed to create our XOXO Chocolate Cupcakes,

as seen on The TomKat Studio.

Download HERE!

Happy Valentine’s Day from Half Baked!!

Love is in the air as Valentine’s Day draws near!  From here until the 14th, we’re all about the sweet inspiration for Cupid’s holiday!  Because really, nothing says ‘I Love You’ like something sweet and delicious.  Today we’re crushing on some incredible goodies from our friends at The Pastry Studio!  With red glittering hearts and oh-so-pretty lips ready for smooching, these Valentine’s treats are sure to make your heart flutter!

Oh the glitter!!  Red velvet cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes get an extra pinch of shimmer with glittering red heart toppers.  I love the idea of boxing up a cupcake in a craft-brown box and tying with a red polka-dot bow!  Who could resist a delightful gift like that?

It’s all about the hugs and kisses with these charming cookies.  Talk about sweet smooches…  time to pucker up!

And I absolutely love the idea of stacking up your Valentine’s cookies on a pretty white pedestal!  Beautiful cookies deserve a beautiful stand too.  This would be perfect as part of a Valentine’s dessert table or all by itself for a smaller crowd.  Who says you can’t present cookies in a fabulous fashion for your family?

Sending a little love to Sherri and her team at The Pastry Studio for always making us swoon!  You should also check out their lovely Valentine’s Cake that we featured last year (HERE).

The Pastry Studio:
Web:  thepastrystudio.com
Be a Fan:  The Pastry Studio on Facebook
Tweet:  The Pasty Studio on Twitter
Top Tier Directory: Full Listing

Our cupcake contributor, Lauren of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy., is sharing a Valentine’s recipe to make you swoon…

February is a month full of sugar, love, and all things pink and red!  When I think of sweets the first thing that comes to mind is Red Velvet cake, followed closely by chocolate.  So with Valentine’s Day quickly approaching what better way to show someone you love them than with a batch of Red Velvet Cupcakes frosted with a decadent White Chocolate Icing! I know you may be thinking that red velvet cake is traditionally topped with a cream cheese frosting, but let me just say that the white chocolate icing really pairs nicely with the red velvet cake and makes for an extra sweet Valentine treat!

If you’ve been checking out all the latest cake decorating trends and are a frequent follower of Half Baked then you know that the ombre technique is pretty popular right now!  After ooing and awwwing over ombre cakes for the past few months, I have been dying to use this technique!  I couldn’t think of a time more perfect than the month of love to pull out the pink and red food coloring and give it my best try at decorating with gradients with these Ombre Ruffle Cupcakes!

Although all these shades of pink and red may look a little intimidating when it comes to decorating, this method could not be any simpler.  It just requires cleaning up a few extra bowls and spatulas after the decorating is done!  But I say a little more mess was definitely worth it with these sweet cupcakes.

I love the ruffled and frilly appearance of these cupcakes, it reminds me of lace and doilies.  To recreate this look all you need are four Wilton #104 piping tips, piping bags and pink and red coloring which you can find at your local craft store.  It seriously requires more effort to mix your shades of icing than it does to decorate the cupcakes!  Just squeeze the piping bag and let the decorating tip do all the fancy work for you.

You can pipe horizontal lines across the cupcake to create the ruffled look from light to dark.  Or you can pipe around in a circle from the outside of the cupcake to the inside to create a layered flower.

Red Velvet with White Chocolate Cupcakes
recipe by Lauren Kapeluck
(makes 24 cupcakes)

For the cake:

3 cups cake flour
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp vinegar
2 Tbsp red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. In medium bowl combine dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In bowl of stand mixer combine sugar and vegetable oil and beat until combined.
4. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
5. Add vanilla, vinegar and food coloring and mix well.
6. Gradually add in flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, starting and ending with flour. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary.
7. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
10. Once cupcakes are completely cool frost with White Chocolate icing.

For the icing:
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz good quality white chocolate, melted (I used Lindt)
5 cups confectioner’s sugar
4 Tbsp heavy cream

1. In bowl of stand mixer beat butter until creamy.
2. Add vanilla and mix well.
3. Heat chocolate in microwave safe bowl for 30 second intervals stirring in between until melted.  Approximately 2 minutes.
4. Gradually add in confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
5. Add heavy cream 1 Tbsp at a time as needed until reach desired consistency.

To Decorate:
Wilton Pink Coloring
Wilton No Taste Red Coloring
Wilton Tip 104
Piping Bags

1. Divide icing into 4 separate bowls of equal portions. (Approx 1 1/2 cups each)
2. Tint 3 bowls with Wilton Pink coloring, creating a pale, medium, and darker shade of pink.
3. Tint 1 bowl with Wilton No Taste Red coloring.
4. Place icing in piping bags fitted with tip 104.
5. To create the ruffle look:  Start with the lightest shade of pink. Hold the piping bag so the narrow part of the tip is facing towards you and gently squeeze in a slight back and forth motion as you go across the bottom of the cupcake to create a ruffle. Make 2 rows of ruffles using the lightest pink. Repeating the same technique, make two rows of ruffles using the medium pink, dark pink and red icing until your entire cupcake is covered.
6. To create the flower:  Start with the lightest shade of pink. Hold the piping bag so the narrow part of the tip is facing the outside edge of your cupcake and gently squeeze the icing out of the bag in a ruffle pattern going in a circle while turning the base of the cupcake with your other hand. Repeat the same technique to create the inner ruffled circles of the flower with the medium pink, dark pink and red icing.

I hope you enjoy this delicious Red Velvet and White Chocolate cupcake recipe! And I hope you have even more fun decorating with ombre ruffles!  XOXOXO

	Lauren Kapeluck Lauren is a monthly contributor for The Cake Blog. She is a self-taught baker and lover of all things sugar. Read more about Lauren on her bio page.

What’s a party without a little sparkle?  From shimmering gold to pink bows and feathers, this first birthday party really shines.  Little girls and big girls agree… all that glitters is gold!  And today’s party is no exception!  With incredible sweets created by our friends at Intricate Icings, this was definitely one sweet affair.  Dazzling cakes, cookies and cake pops all inspired by the party invitation.  Plus a mini, ombre-ruffle cake, made especially for the birthday girl!  Love, love, love it!  We’re just beaming over this Glittering Gold & Pink 1st Birthday….

Delightful, isn’t it?!  We’ll come back to those amazing cake pops in just a moment…

First, check out THE most adorable smash cake ever!  Ombre. Ruffles. And a glittering #1.  Does it get much better than this?  Only when the birthday girl digs into this mini ruffled buttercream cake, made just for her!

The invitation provided the inspiration for the cake, cupcakes and cookies.  Shimmering gold, pink bows plus a few edible feathers to complete the look.  Even the cupcake stand was glittering with fun (and the birthday girl’s name, Storey)!

Golden bows made from modeling chocolate take these cake pops to a whole new level of fabulous!  They pair perfectly with charming pink and gold bow-shaped cookies.

A bedazzled photo booth with a sparkly gold backdrop set the stage for guests to strike a pose.  And the perfect setting to capture this sweet moment… the birthday girl and her giant pink balloon!

From the ribbon backdrop to the glittering gold tablecloth and everything in between, we’re loving the sparkle!  Thank you to Rachael at Intricate Icings and Krista at Artessa Photography for sharing this Glittering Gold & Pink Birthday Party with us!

Happy Friday everyone!

Vendors & Credits:
Coordinator:  Ashley Summers
Cake & Desserts:  Intricate Icings
Photography:  Artessa Photography
Invitations:  Rebecca Shriver
Flowers & Balloons:  Newberry Brothers
Linens:  Chair Covers & Linens and Nuage
Venue: The Four Seasons, Denver

With Arctic air making its way across the country, wreaking havoc with cold temperatures, ice and snow… I thought we’d wrap up with week with a little bit of snow we can all enjoy!  With a soft glow and subtle shimmer, today’s cake captures the magical beauty of a white winter.  White-on-white textures like ruffles and pinwheels combine with frilly flowers and delicate buttons.  The result is one exquisite cake, create by Stevi Auble, owner of Hey There, Cupcake! So bundle up, grab a mug of hot cocoa and let it snow!  We’ll be enjoying this Snowy Winter White Wedding Cake….

Did I mention the incredible touches of silver, including edible silver leaf and a fabulous cake stand?  And for the love of chevron… what a perfect backdrop for this design!  The soft blue and silver tones really add to the chilly winter vibe.

Stevi shared a few thoughts about her lovely design:

“This cake was made with visions of a snowy magical winter in mind. The flowers, buttons, ruffles & pinwheels are all handmade and consists of many different edible materials including fondant, rice paper, gumpaste and poured sugar. I also used edible silver leaf to give some contrast to all of the whites on the cake.”

It’s like a snowy dream… only it won’t leave you frostbite!  The silver leaf accents really make the white detail work stand out and add a great wintry touch.  And those small clusters of vertical frills… LOVE them!  I’m not sure if there is a technical term for these.  All I know is that I love them!

A special thank you to Stevi Auble, of Hey There, Cupcake!, for sharing her fabulous Snowy Winter White Wedding Cake with us today.  It is just stunning!  Happy Friday everyone!

Vendors & Credits:
Cake:  Hey There, Cupcake!
Be a Fan:  Hey There, Cupcake on Facebook
Photography:  Bryan Miller

Our cupcake contributor, Lauren of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy, is back with her first post of the year…

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is looking forward to a fresh start in 2012!  I am excited to kick off a new year and share one of my family’s favorite recipes for Italian Cream Cake.  This is a family recipe that has been around for as long as I can remember and one that we always enjoy around the holidays, especially the winter months.  With winter around for a little while longer and still a chance of snow for some of you that live in colder climates, I thought this recipe would be perfect baked as individual cakes to resemble snowballs.  I hope you enjoy these Italian Cream ‘Snowball’ Cupcakes.

The base of the cake is white and fluffy loaded with chopped walnuts and flaked coconut.  Apply a heaping mound of cream cheese icing and garnish with coconut flakes to create a mound of snow on top.  Aren’t these just the cutest little edible snowballs!  Although these cupcakes taste amazing at room temperature, my family loves to enjoy them after being chilled in the refrigerator!  You can’t go wrong either way!

For this particular batch of cupcakes I decided to bake them in Wilton White Nut & Party Cups.  I simply placed the paper cups on baking sheets instead of using a muffin pan.  You should be able to find these cups in the baking section of your local craft store if you want to use them.  Traditional paper cupcake liners will work perfectly fine as well, I just wanted to try something “new” for the new year with these cupcakes!

This cake recipe is pretty versatile and works well as an 8″ 3-layer cake as well.  If you aren’t a huge lover of coconut then feel free to garnish with chopped walnuts instead.  Or you can swap out the walnuts for pecans.  We love to switch up the garnish in my family!

Italian Cream Cake Cupcakes
(makes 24 cupcakes)

For the cake:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sugar
5 eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag (14 oz) flaked coconut (use 1/2 cup for cake, remaining for garnish)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place paper cups on a baking sheet.
2. In bowl of stand mixer beat butter and vegetable shortening.
3. Add sugar and continue beating until mixture is smooth.
4. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Combine flour and baking soda.
6. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
7. Stir in vanilla, 1/2 cup coconut and walnuts.
8. Beat egg whites with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold into cake batter.
9. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
10. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
11. Let cupcakes cool on pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
12. Once cupcakes are completely cool frost with Cream Cheese icing.

For the icing:
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, softened
5 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. In bowl of stand mixer beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until well combined.
2. Gradually add in confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
3. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
4. Frost cupcakes with offset spatula and garnish with coconut flakes.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!  Here’s to a wonderful and exciting new year!

	Lauren Kapeluck Lauren is a monthly contributor for The Cake Blog. She is a self-taught baker and lover of all things sugar. Read more about Lauren on her bio page.